Treks, Forts & Trips

Vairatgad

2020-03-31T16:58:00.001+05:30

Vairatgad as seen from Vyazwadi

Basic Facts

Name: Vairatgad (वैराटगड)
Base village: Vyazwadi (व्याजवाडी)
Nearest town: Wai (वाई)
Distance from Pune: approx. 95 kms.
History: Trekshitiz

Vairatgad is a small fort located near the town of Wai in Maharashtra, India. It takes around 30 minutes to get to the base village from Wai. Unfortunately, I do not have the local transport details this time, however, you can get them by calling the Wai State Transport Bus Depot.
Not much to say about the fort, besides what's already been said at the above link.

The Route

The route begins from the village of Vyazwadi. You can ask any villager you come across and they should be able to point you to the start of the trail.
The trail itself is well trodden and marked as well, so there's little chance of getting lost here. Although, if you visit the fort in the monsoon, the markings may be hidden in the undergrowth.
The trail can be divided into three sections; the rocky road, the traverse and the slipper. The entire trail with the exception of the traverse section has an average incline of 40-45 degrees. Also there is very little tree cover anywhere on the trail, so I would caution against visiting this fort in the summer.
It should take you around 30-45 minutes to clear the first two section and another 20-30 minutes to clear the third. A note of caution. The trail, specifically the third section, get extremely slippery during the monsoon.
As you come to the end of the third section, you will be able to see a perpendicular trail with the citadel looming over you. If you go left here, you'll come upon a series of water tanks carved into the cliff and massive bee hives above you. Continuing on this path will take you to what the locals call नाक टेकडी (literally, Nose hill) and descend from there to a different village altogether.
Take a right here will lead you to the stairway of the citadel and the ruins of what must have been the doorway.
As you come up on the fort, you can see two temples and a lake on your left.

The larger temple has a large enough verandah which could be used to stay in.
Looking to the right, you can see a chain of fortifications and another small temple.
It will take around 20-30 minutes to take a walk around the entire fort.

Photos

Pandavgad

2018-07-21T09:55:00.000+05:30

Pandavgad fort image © TourMyIndia.com https://goo.gl/TFakKB

Pandavgad is a fort located near the town of Wai in the Satara district of Maharashtra. One odd thing about this fort is that it is owned by a company named Mapro! Wonder how that came to be...

The location of Pandavgad is unique in the sense that it is somewhat detached from the other mountain ranges in the area. Due to this, the fort can be accessed through routes from multiple villages. In fact, according to a book 'Sangati Sahyadricha', there are 4-5 base villages from where paths go upto the fort.
However, when I asked the person (who stays on the fort) appointed by Mapro, he said that only two routes are currently used, the ones from Kambatwadi and Gundewadi. Of these two routes, the one from Gundewadi is the shortest one.

Getting there:

Public Transport
1. Get an MSRTC bus from Swargate to Wai/Panchgani/Mahabaleshwar and alight at the Wai bus station.
2. Get a bus/local transport (jeeps and the like) that are going to Mandhardevi and alight at your preferred village (Kambatwadi or Gundewadi).

Private Transport
If you're travelling by car/bike, take the Wai exit on the Pune-Bangalore highway. This point is also known as Surur phata.
Follow the road that goes to Wai from here till you come to a fork. The road on the right goes to Wai's MIDC area and continues from there to Mandhardevi. If you think you're lost ask any person from directions to Mandhardevi.
Gundewadi is located at a distance of around 7 kms from Wai.
Note: The route up to the fort begins from the highway itself before you even get close to the village. There some space where you can park your vehicles.
The best option once you get close to Gundewadi would be to ask a villager for the start point of the trail.

The Trail

I have tried to mark the trail to the best of my abilities and recollection on the map. Please do not consider it to be an accurate measure.

The trail is pretty simple with gradual inclines thanks to its zigzagging pattern. There are three primary stages to the climb. Each stage ends at the top of a small hill, until you finally come to what seems like a dead end in the path. The stairs going to the fort begin from this point onwards.
Keep following the trail until you reach a small bungalow style structure on the fort. You may have to make an entry in the visitors log available with the person who stays here on behalf of Mapro.
Standing in front of the entrance of the structure, turn left to see a small path that goes up to the citadel of the fort. Following this trail you will come across remains of the gateway of the citadel before the path makes a U turn to the citadel.

The citadel has a few remains of battlements, one large lake, a mortar grinding wheel and two temples - one of which has been reconstructed.
As we had visited this place in the monsoon, we couldn't explore the other parts due to the overgrowth.

It takes around 2-2½ hours to get to the top and another 30-45 minutes to see the fort.

Some photos from the fort

Vasota

2018-05-05T10:58:00.001+05:30

Vasota is located within the Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary in the Satara district of Maharashtra. Its location in the sanctuary means that the fort comes under the jurisdiction of the Forest Department. This has helped to keep the fort clean and you won't find any plastic lying around on the route.

How to get there

The easiest route to this fort is from the Bamnoli village.
To get to Bamnoli, take the Pune-Bengaluru highway till Satara.
From there, take the road that goes to the Kas plateau.
The same road will continue towards Bamnoli (Plus Code: 7J9M7J9MPQM5+GW).
From Bamnoli, you will have to take a boat to the fort.

Charges (as of February 2018)

Since Vasota is under the jurisdiction of the Forest department and due to its location in a Sanctuary, there are some charges that you will have to pay.
Launch Fees: ₹3450 flat fee. The launch can accommodate 15-20 people.
Forest Fees Breakdown:
₹30 - Basic fee per person
₹50 - Camera fees
₹150 - Motor launch parking fees
₹200 - Guide fees
₹100 - Tiger Foundation Fee

Besides these fees you will also have to keep ₹200 as a deposit at the forest outpost at the base of the fort. They will make a note of all plastic items you have with you (especially bottles) and will check if you have brought all the plastic back with you later. If you haven't, the deposit will be confiscated.

The Route

The whole route is well marked. There are no chances of anyone getting lost unless you go off route. Although, due to previous incidents, a guide is compulsory (fees are included in the Forest Fees). The boat operator will double up as your guide.

The route begins from the right side of the forest outpost. The first part of this route is a small path. As you come to the end of this path, you'll come upon a river bed on your right. Here, there is a small temple dedicated to the monkey God Hanuman. The route to the fort proceeds beside this temple and climbs up, leaving the riverbed behind.

There is a small pond of potable water some ways behind the temple. It's recommended to fill up all your bottles as there is no water on the fort or anywhere on the route.

The route from here is simply amazing! Lush green canopies ensure you don't feel the sun and if you're lucky enough to be alone you will be able to hear the sounds of hundreds of birds. The climb has some steep patches but the absence of direct heat will make the climb easier.

The halfway point of the fort is marked by two basic concrete benches built by the forest department. Just behind the left bench, you will see some ruins that have long been taken back by the forest.

Th climb from this point onwards is considerably more difficult. Mainly because the jungle canopy starts thinning out and is replaced by the Karvi plants. Ten minutes after you leave the halfway point, you will come to a junction. You have to take the path on the left that leads up to the mountain. The other path will take you to the Nageshwar cave temple.

The first part of this path is somewhat steep, though you still won't feel the the sun. The second half of this climb is through patches of Karvi plants. The path here is filled with small pebbles that can make it difficult during the descend. As you come out of the forest, you will be able to see what is remaining of the fortifications. Climbing the stairs at the end of this path, cross the ruins of the doorways to enter the fort.

Things to See

Hanuman Temple

Babu Kada

Essentially Old Vasota, this cliff or mountain if you will is said to be the older Vasota fort. Any route going up to this fort is long lost or known only to a select few local people.

Nageshwar temple mountain

Nageshwar is a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, one of the Holy Trinity in Hindu religion. There are two ways to get to this temple - one from the Chorawane village and the other from Bamnoli.

Sanjeevani Machi (Rajgad)

2017-06-26T13:07:00.001+05:30

Sanjeevani Machi seen from the Vyaghramukh Bastion

The strategic importance, the well-planned architecture and the fact that it took me 5 visits to Rajgad to visit Sanjeevani machi, merits it its own blog post.

Sanjeevani machi (fortified part of a mountain ridge) is one of the most heavily fortified areas of the Rajgad fort. The fort has two other such ridges, namely, Suvela machi and Padmavati machi. The balekilla (citadel) of the fort is nested at the meeting point of these machis. The Sanjeevani machi hosts a gateway named Alu Darwaja (door). Through this ‘darwaja’ one can access the route which meets up with the Budhla machi on the neighbouring Torna fort.

Sanjeevani machi can be divided into 3 parts for better explanation. The first part is the length from the Balekilla to the Tehalni (observation) Buruj (bastion); the second part is from the Tehalni Buruj to Vyaghramukh bastion; and the third part is from the Vyaghramukh to the last bastion of the machi.

Pali Darwaja

To get to the machi, one has to start walking towards the balekilla from Padmavati machi. Right below the balekilla, there is a fork in the path. The left path goes up to the balekilla while the right path goes to Sanjeevani machi. Taking the left path, one has to cross through a small doorway. On crossing the doorway, you’ll see the path sloping downwards for some distance. On the left, you can see the Pali Darwaja, which guards what used to be the primary route up the fort.

Tehalni Buruj and the path
to the machi

The path, traverses the length of the balekilla and reaches the first part of the machi. AS you walk towards the Tehalni Buruj, you can see the remains of a Sadar (office). As you move ahead, you come upon the remains of the Tehalni buruj. Unfortunately, there is no place to climb the buruj as most of the structure has crumbled away. On the right of the buruj, through a gateway you can descend to the second part of the machi.
As you climb down the ruined stairway, you can see the part of machi till the Vyaghramukh. This is another thing I noticed about the machi. The machi is at three levels and at the end of each level you have a bastion and a gateway.

Vyaghramukh and the doorway

The second part of the machi hosts a number of large water tanks, but little else. At the end of this part is the Vyaghramukh bastion. You can get an amazing view of Sanjeevani machi’s dual fortifications from this place. Just before this bastion, on the left, is another gateway which goes down to the third and final part of the machi.

Water tanks on the machi

Once you descend through the gateway, you’ll be able to see a small doorway in the left wall. This gateway is known as Alu Darwaja. Moving forward, you’ll be able to see the final bastion of the machi. You’ll notice that only this part of the machi has two layered fortification. The path towards the bastion goes along the inner wall.

The two walls have a small gap between them. This space is around 2 feet wide and about 8-10 feet deep.

Another interesting thing about the machi’s architecture is that it has multiple additional bastions at regular intervals. These bastions form the first part of the machi’s defence and are located at a lower level than battlements. These bastions have been made accessible with the use of small tunnels through the walls.

Some of these doorways allow entrance to the gap between the walls, while others have small tunnels which pass underneath the walls. Besides these, there is also one place with stairs to descend into the gap.

On the left side, just before the doorway, you can enter the gap between the two walls. From this point it’ll take you around 3-5 minutes to reach the stairs mentioned earlier.

There are a few odd things you might notice if you choose to enter. One is that there are some gaps in the wall which seem like murder holes, sloping downwards into the gap. In another part of the fortifications, there is a small stone carving which looks to be completely out of place.

At the end of the of the machi, you have the final bastion. This bastion is quite large and has some ruins which seem to be mounting points for cannons. We saw three of these mounting points on the bastion. The bastion also has its battlements made to enable cannon fire. Right next to the bastion, you have a small doorway which leads down to an additional outer bastion.

If you visit the machi in winter or summer, you’ll have a greater chance of getting an amazing view of the balekilla from this bastion. Finally, It takes around one to two hours to explore this machi end-to-end.

Sarasgad

2016-12-14T19:58:00.002+05:30

Fort Facts

Name: Sarasgad

Type: Hill Fort

Height: 490 metres

District: Raigad

Base Village: Pali

Route: Pune-Lonavala-Khopoli-Pali

Route Options:

1. Pune to Pali MSRTC Bus:

Approx. Cost : Rs. 182 per ticket.

2. Pune - Lonavala - Khopoli - Pali:

Pune-Lonavala local ticket: Rs. 12.

Lonavala-Khopoli Taxi: Rs. 30 per person.

Khopoli to Pali MSRTC bus: Rs. 151.

Sarasgad is a fort located in the town of Pali. The town of Pali is famous for playing host to one of the eight Ashtavinayak temples in Maharashtra. The Ashtavinayak temples are famous amongst the devotees of the elephant God Ganesha.

We took the 7 am bus to Roha from the Shivajinagar Bus Station in Pune. To get to Pali from Shivajinagar by bus it took us exactly 4 hours. We had breakfast in a small hotel in Pali, and started walking towards the route.

The route to Sarasgad starts about 500 metres from the Ballaleshwar Temple entrance. If you have trouble finding the route you can ask any of the villagers who will point you in the right direction. At the start of the route, you can see a board with the map of the fort.

The first part of the route follows a stream’s path. The path is well trodden and there aren’t many places you can get confused. Some parts of the path have yellow arrows drawn on rocks to show the right path going up to the fort.

After climbing through the stream, you’ll come up to a path which is perpendicular to the one you came from. You’ll be able to see a large boulder which has an arrow drawn on it pointing to the right. Keep following this path. 10-15 minutes later (depending on your speed), you’ll come to a large fork devoid of any directional arrows. While both roads lead to the same path, the left path is more well trodden than the right one.

At the end of this path you’ll come to an open area. You’ll be able to see Sarasgad in front. Here onward, all you have to do is stick to the path and make sure that you’re walking towards the fort. If you do that, you have little chance of getting lost.

After clearing the wooded area, keep moving towards the fort. After climbing for another 15-20 minutes or so, you’ll reach right next to the main part of the fort. This is where you’ll see some rough step like features in the rock. Climbing these will get you up to a small flat area which has a small cave carved into the rock.

Right next to this cave are the steps which go up to the Main Doorway of the fort. These steps can be quite slippery in the monsoon, so make sure to take care if you’re visiting during that time. You will have to climb approximately a 100 steps* to reach the Dindi Darwaja, which is the first main door of the fort. The steps are around 2 feet high which might give some trouble while ascending or descending.

As you climb the stairs you’ll notice two bastions at the top of the staircase. At the end of the staircase there is a small flat area with the Dindi Darwaja on your left. As you move through the door, you can see some room like structures. The guards of the fort may have used these for shelter.

Climb the remaining stairs to reach the fort. From here, there are two ways. The path on the left will take you up to the citadel of the fort. The path on the right will take you to a water tank and some caves located at the base of the citadel.

The left way further splits into two, both of which join up later right below a small rock patch to get to the citadel. Reportedly the path on the left fork is easier to navigate, since the one of the right has another small rock patch. But, both paths will take you up to the citadel.

We chose the path on the right. After a gradual climb you will notice a very small patch which you’ll have to climb to get onto the route to the citadel. In about 5 minutes you’ll see another fork in the road. The path on the left is the one we did not choose while coming to the citadel. The path on the right which climbs up, goes to the citadel.
As you climb the path to the citadel, you can see that there is a small water tank which carved right into the rock. Keeping the water tank in front, you can see a small flight of rough stairs, which go up to the citadel. The stairs are quite small and there is some amount of exposure here, be careful when navigating this route.

On top of the citadel, there is a small temple dedicated to Lord Shiva (one of the Holy Trinity in the Hindu religion). The temple is located next to a lake. A small water inlet made in the inner sanctum of the temple ensures that the idol stays submerged in water. Besides the temple there’s not much to see on the fort and you can start to make your way down from the fort.
Climbing down, the rock patches on the citadel can be a little risky, especially in the monsoon. Once you reach the Dindi Darwaja, it should not take you longer than an hour to descend to Pali (we did it in half an hour).

If you’re travelling by public transport, there is one bus which goes to Pune from Pali which departs from Pali Bus Station at 4 pm. If you miss it (like we did!) there’s a bus going to Khopoli which departs at 5:30 pm and you can take the Lonavala route to get to Pune from there.

Keep trekking!

Tung Fort

2016-07-27T17:14:00.001+05:30

Tung Fort as seen from Tikona Fort.

Tung is a small fort located in the Maval region of the Pune district. This fort can be accessed from Lonavala, as well as from Pune. The Google map links for both routes are given in the footnotes. The route from Lonavala is via INS Shivaji and Amby Valley, while the route from Pune is via Paud.
You can take the Pune-Lonavala-Tung route, but that’s up to you. In this post, the times and distances will be as per the Pune-Paud-Tung route.

On the way to Tung.
Photo Credit +Nikhil Bhosale

To reach Tung, you have to take the road which goes to Hadashi or Kolvan from Paud. This is the road which goes to the right from the main square in Paud. Keep following this route till you reach a village known as Javan (जवण) from the main road you have to take a right turn. The Tung & Tikona forts are quite well known here, so if you’re confused don’t hesitate to ask for directions. From this point onwards, keep on this road for around 20 odd kms. Be careful not to take any turns which deviate from this road! At one point, if you’ve followed the road correctly, you’ll end up at a T-junction. The left route goes to Lonavala, while the right road take you to Tung (~3 kms). Follow this route till you come to a right turn which has a sign which says Tung fort. The road is still a work in progress, that is, on the turn there's some rubble.

At the end of that road, you’ll find a small temple, with some flat area which has now been converted into some kind of parking lot. You can park your vehicle here. If you go there during peak season (monsoon) there might be someone there who'll ask for a parking fee.

With the temple entrance at your back, you'll see a sign which points out the path going up to the fort. This route is not smooth, and there are one or two small patches where you'll have to do a spot of rock climbing, but it's quite easy. Since the route is part of a stream's flow, it's very rocky. As such it's recommended that you wear comfortable trekking shoes or barring that sports shoes with good grip.

First doorway.

The first doorway from the bastion.
Photo credit +Nikhil Bhosale

Bastion protecting the
2nd doorway

There are three parts to the fort, to get to the first doorway, it'll take about 30-45 minutes to an hour. Immediately after entering through the doorway, you'll see a flight of stairs on your right leading up to the second doorway. Guarding these stairs is a large bastion.

After crossing the second doorway, you reach the second part of the fort. After crossing the second doorway, you'll have to almost take a U-turn along the path till you can see a small Ganesh temple alongside a water reservoir.

The path forward is right next to the reservoir. Follow this path till you come to a crossroad, the right path goes to a small water tank which has potable water (if you're going at the beginning of monsoon it's better to avoid any such tank on any fort), the left path will take you further up to the third part of the fort.

The third and final part of the fort has the temple of Tungai Devi. This is located on the topmost part of the fort and the path to this top, is quite exposed. There may also be decently heavy winds here, so I wouldn't recommend any heroics here. If you don't think you can handle the wind turn back!

The topmost part with the temple is quite small and contains nothing but the temple and a flag post.

If you're lucky enough to come here during winter and get a clear weather, you'll be able to see a number of other forts from here such as Tikona, Lohgad and Visapur.

The whole climb should not take you longer than two hours or so.

Links and References:

Lonavala to Tung route: https://goo.gl/3zWNK0

Pune to Tung route: https://goo.gl/K5oNV6

Info about Tung Fort: http://trekshitiz.com/trekshitiz/Ei/Tung-Trek-T-Alpha.html

Tikona

2016-07-26T13:00:00.000+05:30

Tikona is a small outpost fort located in the Maval region of the Pune district in Maharashtra, India. This fort is famous with first timers in trekking as it has a simple climb and is quite close to Pune city. This fort is usually scaled with Tung another outpost for located nearby. In fact, Tung and Tikona are separated just by the backwaters of the Pavana dam.

To get to Tikona, the best route from Pune is via Paud. From Paud you have to take the road which goes down to Kolvan, on the way you’ll come across an offshoot on the road which goes to Hadashi, ignore it and continue along the main road. Keep on this road until you cross a village called Javan. From here, continue on the same road till you see a small archway on the right. By this time you should have passed a ST bus stop called Tikona Peth. Cross the archway and follow the road till you get to the base of the fort.

Similar to Tung, Tikona is also divided into three sections. The first section goes until the first flight of stairs and the first 2 door ways. The second section is the part after the second doorway, where a cave and a source of potable water is located. The third section is the main part of the fort.

You can park your vehicle in the limited space available at the base. The path leading up to the fort is well trodden and easily identifiable. The path has a gradual incline and is easy to climb. After a point there is little tree cover so it would be advisable to carry plenty of water and sun caps if you're visiting in winter or summer. Keep following the path until you get to a small plateau. You can get a good view of the balekilla of the fort.

Start walking towards the balekilla and the path will start a gradual climb along the right side of the balekilla. Enroute you'll see a large statue of the Monkey God Hanuman. Keep following the path until you see a small water tank across which is a small cave temple dedicated to Taljai Devi.

Just beyond the temple you'll see a fork in the path, take the path going upwards. Continue climbing till you see a large stone wheel in circular groove in the ground. This is an ancient mortar crushing device, in the local tongue it's call 'Chunyacha Ghana'. This was used to grind up the limestone mix used in the construction of the fortifications of the fort. There is usually a villager who offers some refreshments for a price here.

Continuing on, you’ll see the steps which are going up to the first doorway of the fort. Start climbing till you cross the first door. Someone has installed a thick cable here to help people climb and descend the stairs. After you cross the first door you’ll notice two things; one, the next flight of stairs is much steeper and narrower than the one you just climbed; and two, there’s a small water tank on your right. You’ll also notice two towers flanking the stairway and a small flat area to your left. You can take a rest here if you’re tired from climbing the stairs or if there are people descending.

Climb the remaining stairs and cross the second doorway, and you’ll come out to a large flat area which is open. If you turn right, immediately after crossing the doorway, you’ll notice a small path which goes right next to the tower (it’s a U-turn). This path leads to a small cave which is the only place you can stay

on the fort. Right next to the cave is a small tank which is filled with potable water. It is safer to carry water with you during monsoon and summer since the water may not be pure in the former and there may not be any water left in the latter.

Returning to the doorway, proceed straight and you’ll see a flight of newly constructed stairs which go up to the third and main part of the fort. This is where the Trimbakeshwar temple is located and a few small water tanks near the temple itself.

Here you have a choice of taking the path going left or the one going right. Both paths can be used to complete a round of the fort. If you take the left one, you come across the lake first. Just before the lake is a small path which goes up to the topmost point of the fort which has the flag post. If you're lucky enough to get clear weather here you'll be able to get an amazing view of the Tung fort across the Pavana backwaters. You'll also be able to Lohgad and Visapur forts.

It should not take you more than 15 minutes to half an hour to take a complete round of the top.

References:

https://www.punetrekkers.com/tikona-fort

Road Map (Pune - Tikona) : https://goo.gl/2xi0el

Rajgad - The King of Forts

2016-05-17T23:55:00.001+05:30

I was just going through all my blog posts today, and I was surprised to find that there were no posts about Rajgad, a fort which I have visited at least 4-5 times! I figured that this oversight must be remedied at once, and I set to work!

Rajgad is one of the most important forts in the history of the Maratha Empire founded by Shivaji Bhosale. He is widely recognised as one of the most powerful and cunning leaders in the history of India and the world. The reason why Rajgad gets this importance is because, this fort was the capital of the Maratha kingdom for nearly 26 years, before the capital was shifted to Raigad fort.
The history of Rajgad begins from the capture of the Torna fort, which lies in across it. After the capture of Torna, quite a bit of hidden gold was found during the repair work. With this newfound wealth, the construction of Rajgad was undertaken. During this fort's stint as the capital, it bore witness to many important battles and events of the Maratha kingdom. Notable among which are, the defeat of Afzal Khan, the Treaty of Purander, the Sacking of Surat, etc. This fort also witnessed the death of Shivaji's elder wife, Saibai. There is a small memorial dedicated to her on this fort.
The fort has an interesting structure, a structure similar to a dike with sheer cliffs on all sides serves as a citadel (Balekilla) of the fort, three ridges emerge from it in different directions. These ridges are known as Padmavati, Sanjeevani and Suvela respectively.

The Padmavati machi is the widest of all, and plays host to the Chor Darwaja (Secret door), which ironically, is the most used approach to the fort. The machi also has a number of structures on it, such as the Padmavati Lake, Saibai's Memorial, the Padmavati temple and the Rameshwar temple, and a Rest house. Additionally, this machi also hosts the King's Court (Darbar), and the offices (Sadar). If you want to stay on the fort, Padmavati is the only ridge which offers any shelter from the elements, unless you're carrying camping equipment.

Sanjeevani machi is the only one of the three, which has dual fortifications. At the end of the machi, you have the Alu Darwaja. Also, you can go over to the Torna fort from this machi (~5-6 hours).

Suvela machi has one of the most noticeable natural features, a Needle hole. Besides this, the route to the machi also has the Gunjawane Darwaja, which is one of the lesser known routes of the fort. This route has been almost completely abandoned and should not be used by inexperienced climbers. The needle hole is clearly visible while travelling to Gunjawane.
The citadel of the fort is accessible from the Padmavati machi, from which a route traverses part of the bastion before heading up a series of rock patches. At the end of these patches, you can see the massive gates which guard the balekilla. These gates are one of the few intact structures left on the fort. The Balekilla itself has few structures such as the Janani temple. There are various ruins on this part of the fort which include the Royal palace, another court, etc.
There are 3 different routes to climb Rajgad. One is via the Chor Darwaja. To use this route one can either drive down by a car/bike or can take a public transport bus. The buses to Gunjawane depart from the Swargate MSRTC station in Pune. There are only 2-3 buses in a day, so make sure you plan accordingly. The last bus to Gunjawane departs at 1730.
If you're driving down, take the NH4 from Pune, and make a turn at the Nasrapur Phata. From there, you can ask for directions to Gunjawane.

References & Credits:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajgad
http://trekshitiz.com/trekshitiz/Ei/Rajgad-Trek-R-Alpha.html
Balekilla :http://flexiter.in/rajgad-forts-in-maharashtra-near-pune/
Sanjeevani Machi :https://www.flickr.com/photos/25365312@N08/14855695237/

IndSearch ISAP Study Tour 2016 - London

2016-04-10T20:39:00.001+05:30

As part of the second year of my Masters programme at IndSearch, we had the option of choosing a 2 credit subject, one of which included a Study Abroad Programme. Students who opted for this subject, would be travelling to a foreign country for a short period.
After much deliberations, London was chosen as the foreign city which we were going to visit. Accordingly, the dates were finalised and the tickets were booked. The tour was planned from 30th March to 6th April 2016.
As per schedule, we departed from the law college road campus of IndSearch to go to the Mumbai international airport. The flight took off at 0155 and reached Heathrow airport at 0700.

31st March 2016

We reached London at 0700 local time. The taxis waiting for us took us to the Indian YMCA hostel at Fitzroy Square in central London.
After freshening up a bit, we left to explore London. But first, we had our lunch at a small at a street food stall which was serving amazing Italian sandwiches. After having coffee and hot chocolate at the neighbouring stall, we started to walk to the Madam Tussaud's wax museum. On our way there we stopped at the St. Marylebone Parish Church. The construction of the church was quite simple, except for decorations at the top of every column. On our way to Madam Tussauds, we dropped by the Sherlock Holmes Museum located at 221B, Bakers Street. Madam Tussauds Wax Museum is huge! It took us almost 3 hours to complete the tour. While the wax sculptures were decent, the highlight of the whole tour was the History of London cab ride and the 4D movie.

Thereafter we went to Regents Park, which was a short walk from Madam Tussauds. This park surrounds a large lake, with gardens and many paths which people can use to run, walk or cycle. That I only managed to cover about 1/4 of the park in the 45 minutes is a testament to the size of the park!

1st April 2016

Today we had an appointment to visit the Cambridge Judge Business School. We left from YMCA at 0845, and it took us around 2 hours to reach Cambridge. We were offered some refreshments and given an overview of the Cambridge university and its business programme. Later we met Janet, a sweet old lady, who led us for a walk in the historic town and introduced us to the town on a way that would not have been possible otherwise.
After completing the tour, we proceeded to Oxford, where we had a sumptuous lunch of fish & chips. Unfortunately we could not take as tour of Oxford as we were hard pressed for time, we spent a few minutes in the Bodleian Library and left for London.

2nd April 2016

Kensington Park Gardens

Big Ben & Westminster Abbey

The first thing we did was visit the Kensington park and the Buckingham palace to see the change of guard. The visit to Buckingham palace was a bit disappointing for me, due to the crowd. We did get to see a glimpse of the parade, but I felt that it disturbed the tempo of the trip, which till now was quite free of tourist traps. We then proceeded to the Trafalgar square, where we had a small lunch.

The London Eye

From there, we proceeded to see Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. From the Tower Hill station, we took the tube to the London Bridge. Some of us went to the London Bridge Experience, while the rest proceeded to the London bridge. We crossed the London bridge and took the next DLR (Dockland Light Railways) to Canary Wharf.

View from the London Eye

After taking a look around we then proceeded to Island Gardens station. Here we crossed the Thames through the Greenwich Foot Tunnel and took the next ferry to Tower Hill. The ferry took around an hour to reach tower hill and offered an amazing view of the London skyline.

At the Slug & Lettuce

During this time, it started to drizzle, thanks to which there was a chill in the air. Thanks the rain, we were not able to get a great view from the London eye. Especially since I wanted to get some good clicks. By the time the London eye ride completed, it was almost 8. We had dinner at an amazing pub nearby called 'The Slug and the Lettuce' and returned to the YMCA.

3rd April 2016

Lords

Today we were going to visit the place known as the Mecca of Cricket aka the MCC cricket ground aka Lords. There are no words which can describe the ground. The feeling is simply indescribable, especially if you're a true fan of Cricket. After taking a look around the museum and the dressing room, we visited the stands which offered an amazing view of the grounds as well as the pavilion. After shopping in the Lords Shop for around half an hour or so, we proceeded to the Camden Street for a shopping spree (at least the ones who actually enjoyed it..). As the shopping continued on Oxford Street, I was ready to tear my hair out!

4th April 2016

The first half of today was spent at Wimbledon. Like most of the places here, Wimbledon was also very well maintained and had guided tours of the court area. It also had museum, where the history of tennis had been recreated in an interactive manner. The highlight of the museum was a 3D film showcasing some of the champions of Wimbledon.
Unfortunately for us the famous centre court was covered, due to which we could not get a great look at the court. After spending some time in the gift shop, we split up again as some of us wanted to shop (again!) and visit the Chelsea stadium, while the rest of us proceeded to the tower of London.
We took the guided tour there, but had to leave in the midst of it, since we had some time constraints. After some time spent shopping (yet again!), we finally returned to YMCA for dinner. We learnt that the other group had visited the Stamford Bridge Stadium.

As this was our last night here, we spent it chatting (and drinking...) till almost 5 am.

5th April 2016
We checked out of YMCA at 10 am and stowed our bags in their cloak room. We still had around 4-5 hours to kill until we had to leave for Heathrow. We split up and and some of us returned to Stamford Bridge for shopping and to see the stadium. One of us was lucky enough to be asked his opinion on Conte, and get featured in a short news video on Sky Sports.
We had lunch at a place called Angus Steak House near Convent Garden, returned to YMCA to collect our luggage and left for Heathrow.

This was my first trip abroad, and it was one of the most memorable trips I have been to.
For more pictures of my trip visit https://goo.gl/photos/QQDnqctfftcH9VnA9.

Ghangad - A new addition to the list!

2016-01-02T19:31:00.000+05:30

Ghangad is a fort located in the Tamhini region of the Pune district. Located at a distance of around 80 kms from Pune and around 40 kms from Lonavala, this fort forms a part of the group of forts which were designed to protect the ghats which descend to the Konkan region.

As is the case with most, if not all forts in Maharashtra, even this fort's primary access route has been destroyed by the British during their campaign to destroy all access routes to all defensible forts in the region. There is only one access to this fort which is from the Ekole village side. There may have been a small flight of stairs to access the balekilla of the fort, but has been destroyed during the British purge.
An organisation has carried out some restoration work and has affixed a firm metal ladder here to facilitate the trekkers who wish to visit the fort. The same organisation has also done some partial restoration of the fort.

The route begins from the Ekole village. It's quite easy to find and a has a board with "Shivaji Trail" marking it out. Immediately after you start on the trail, you come across two roads, one which is a large, possibly motorable dirt track and another small trail which runs parallel to a barbed wire fence. We have to take the smaller path. The path runs along the fence's length until the woods start. The path in the woods is also quite large until you reach the actual treeline, beyond which the path whittles down to a small track. Keep following this path until you come up to a clearing which plays host to a small temple.

Immediately after you enter the clearing, you will see two small deepstambhs on your right,

the path to the fort, is on the left. Moving on to the fort, the path now becomes a bit darker, thanks to the thick camouflage of the trees. You can see some remains of stairs here and there, moving ahead on this path, you come up to the mountain, you will see the path continuing on your left. Follow this path until you come to a T junction. The path to the left leads to a small col between the fort and the neighbouring mountain, while the one on the right goes up to the fort. The col offers a terrific view of the valley on the other side of the fort. Taking the right path will take you to the remains of the 1st gate of the fort.

Immediately after you pass the gate, you will see a small cave ahead, however, this cave cannot be used as a shelter since the floor is very uneven. If you want to stay on the fort, it will be more advisable to carry a tent with you. After entering the gate, if you move towards the left, you will see a metal ladder attached to a small rock patch. At the top of this ladder, there is a small water tank in the rock face, which contains potable water. On the left, you can see the path to the fort, there are another 2 small water tanks. Just beyond the tanks, there is a small rock patch which you would have to climb to get up to the main part of the fort. The rock patch is quite easy to climb and descend, though people new to trekking may require help in some parts.

There's not much to see on this fort as most of the structures have been worn down by time. As you enter the fort, there are some remains of the main door of the fort. As you enter the fort you can see remains of the lone bastion of the fort. Take the path which is going towards the bastion, the path diverges towards the right and moves to the opposite side of the fort. This side of the fort offers a magnificent view of the nearby fort of Teilbaila.

We took the Lonavala route on our way home, and I would not recommend using it, unless you have no choice. While the distance from Ekole to Lonavala is quite less, the road is almost non existent in some places.

For additonal photos please visit my G+ page or visit the following link : Ghangad 25th December 2015

Kalsubai-Kulang New Years Trek 29th December 2004-1st January 2005

2015-01-19T12:26:00.000+05:30

The K2 or Kalsubai-Kulang trek is one of my most memorable treks till date. Introduced under the banner of a "New Years Trek" by Trek'Di, it was the first of this series. The idea was to celebrate the new year in a different manner than usual.

The plan revolved around Kalsubai (the highest peak in Maharashtra), and Kulang which is said to be the highest climb in the Sahyadris. According to the plan, we would leave from Pune on the 29th for Bari, the base village of Kalsubai. We would ascend the peak and return to Bari for an overnight stay. On the 30th, we would move to Ambewadi, the base village of Alang, Madan and Kulang, climb halfway up Kulang and camp there. On the next day, that is the 31st, we would climb to the top of the fort, camp there and celebrate the New Year. On the 1st, we would descend back to Ambewadi and make our way back to Pune.

However, things happened slightly differently. The bus that we had hired to take us on our route failed to show up at the last moment! Luckily for us the trek leaders quickly gathered themselves and decided that we would stick to the plan, though we would have to take public transport to get there. Accordingly, we took a State Transport (S.T) bus to Sangamner and then to Bari. We reached Bari at around 12:30 pm, had our packed lunch and started our climb at 2:30 pm or so. Though route to the top is not very difficult, it is quite lengthy and it took us almost 4 hours to get there. The view from the top is simply amazing! Waves and waves of mountains as far as the eye can see, with the sun just beginning to set on the horizon behind the forts of Alang, Madan and Kulang. After taking a group photo, we started to descend and reached Bari by 7:30 pm. The villagers had kindly allowed us to use their school premises to stay for the night.

The next day, we left Bari and proceeded to Ambewadi by hired jeeps (A local transport service provided by some enterprising villagers, these Jeeps ply the interior roads where there is limited state transport connectivity). Reaching Ambewadi, we got our first glimpse of the magnificent trio of forts that was Alang, Madan and Kulang. Looming like mighty Titans watching over the region, these forts provided a awe-inspiring sight! We had our breakfast in the shadow of these forts and started our climb soon after. I must say, the route of the climb was simply amazing! It ran through a thick forest, teeming with the calls of hundreds of birds, together they formed a cacophony of sound which surprisingly added to the effect of serenity which can only be achieved in Nature! The climb was quite tough, and it took us almost 4 hours to reach the half way point where we had set up camp. The rest of the day passed by lazing around and chatting with the friends we had made over the course of the last 2 days. After dinner, we made a small camp fire and sat around, singing songs and simply warming our bodies against the cold.

The next morning, we started on the final leg of our climb. This route was definitely tougher than the one we had climbed yesterday, with a climb of almost 60 degrees at one or two points and a few small rock patches. A climb of almost 1 and 1/2 hours got us to what remained of the once magnificent staircase of the fort. What now remained was a staircase which was about 1 to 1&1/2 feet in length, with one side facing a deep valley and the other side being the cliff. While navigating through this staircase carefully you can see evidence that the poor condition of this staircase is not merely due to natural forces. The British, while consolidating their rule in India, systematically destroyed such access routes by blowing them up with dynamite. You can still see a part of the holes which were drilled into the rock face to plant the dynamites were drilled into the rock face. Thus, navigating these stairs to the top took us another hour or so.

There isn't much to see on this fort, with the exception of a few ruins and several water reservoirs. There is also one quite large cave, where we had set up camp. We spent the rest of the day roaming around the fort. You can see an amazing view of the surrounding area and the neighbouring forts of Alang and Madan from one end of Kulang.

As the sun set over the horizon, the December chill descended upon the fort. After having a special dinner of Tomato Soup, Pulao (a rice dish popular in India) and some Custard for dessert, we lit up a small campfire and huddled around it for warmth while we waited for the clock to strike midnight. When it finally did, we wished each other a "Happy New Year" and crawled into our sleeping bags and nodded off.

The next morning, we woke up to a sight to behold! The clouds had descended below us like a giant cotton field and the neighbouring peaks were jutting out of them with the morning sun casting them in a pale yellow sheen! This sight was so beautiful, that I cannot find words to describe it! It made me realise how small we are in the tremendous scope of nature, it was a truly humbling experience. It made all the toils we had sustained to get here worth it.

I would like to thank the Trek'Di team for arranging such a beautiful trek for us and making it fun despite all the setbacks. It was a truly memorable trek for me, on which I would not forget till my dying day!

Mohangad 2nd November 2014

2014-11-27T11:30:00.002+05:30

Mohangad is a recently discovered fort situated in the Bhor region. It is located around 40 kms. from Bhor near the Varandha ghat. The fort has little to offer in terms of historical relics, with the exception of a few water cisterns and a temple. However, the climb is decently challenging and the view from the top is amazing! (Provided you visit in the right season!). The historical reference to Mohangad comes in a letter sent to Baji Prabhu Deshpande by Chattrapati Shivaji, in which Shivaji gives some instructions to Baji Prabhu regarding the fort's condition and tells his to change the fort's name from Jasloadgad to Mohangad. It can be inferred that this fort was used to station a few troops during the Afzalkhan episode to prevent additional Moghul troops to come up the Varandha ghat.

How to Get there?
While we had taken our bikes to reach Mohangad, it is also accessible by public transport. You can take a State Transport bus from Pune to Bhor and another bus which goes to Mahad from Bhor. You can ask the conductor to drop you off at Durgadi/Shindewadi Phata. From here, you have to walk about 2-3 kms until you come upto a temple on your left side. This temple is of the Goddess Janani. In front of the temple entrance, on the opposite side of the road, you can see a well used path which goes upto the fort.
The path is well marked with directional arrows so you have no worries of losing the way.
The path is split into gradual ascends and plain walks. Keeping to the path you should reach the ridge line in about 45 minutes. Keeping the fort in front of you, keep following the path until you reach to the base of the bastion. There is a small temple at this fork. The left path leads to 2 of the water cisterns while the path on the right goes up to the fort. The villagers we met on top told us that there is potable water in one of the cisterns on the left path. Taking the path on the right, the incline increases somewhat as you start the final leg of the climb. In 10 minutes or so, you will start to see some rough steps cut into rock. These lead up to the temple on the fort. Once you clear the steps, you can see a path going to the left, it leads to an half-buried water cistern. The other path leads straight to the temple. The complete climb should take around 1.5 to 2 hours.

After taking a short rest, you can enjoy the view offered by the majestic Varandha ghat on your left (with the temple at your back). If you're blessed with clear weather you may also be able to see Rajgad, and some other forts from this point. After taking in the view to your heart's content, start to descend by the same way you came and you should reach back to the temple in around and hour or so. If you have time to spare, a visit to the Varandha Ghat is recommended. You may also visit the Kavlya Fort which is quite easily accessed from the Ghat itself.

I hope you liked the new format of my post and let me know if you want my future posts in this format in the comments section below!
If you want to read about our trek experience, CLICK HERE (coming soon)

References:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SOwe5Dmheo
http://atpatil11.blogspot.in/2013/10/mohangad-varadha-ghat-kavlya-gad-one.html

Rohida 4th October 2013

2013-10-23T21:19:00.000+05:30

Rohida aka Vichitragad is situated at a distance of 7-8 Kms from Bhor and about 70 Kms from Pune. This fort has stood against the ravages of time and stands tall guarding the region from its many bastions. Vichitragad has three gates, all of which we have to pass to enter the fort. The third gate is in good condition and has two inscriptions (One in Parsi and the other in Marathi) carved on it. Besides this, Rohida also plays host to a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.
To be frank, Rohida was our second choice for a trek. We (i.e. Me, Ankit & Nikhil) had earlier planned on doing a two day trek to Ratangad, however Ankit reneged at the last moment since he had some work in Mumbai. We met at Chandani Chowk on the Pune-Bangalore highway at around 8 am and left for our destination. After a heavy breakfast at Kapurhol, we turned our sights towards Bhor. From Bhor we had to reach the base village Bazaarwadi; this is where the route upto the fort begins. However, due to some miscommunication (asking for the fort, rather than the base village) we reached the opposite side of the fort! We came to know from one of the villagers that there is a route to climb the fort from this side as well.

After riding on the small country road for another 15-20 minutes, we reached a small village named Chikhlawde. Asking around for directions to the fort, the villagers told us that there is a cattle track which traverses the fort and joins up with the main route. The villagers told us where the route began and we started following it. In a few minutes we came upon a small stream and started climbing towards the fort. This was our first mistake, since we had been told that the route was simply a cattle track, we were looking for a similar path. As it happens with most of the cattle tracks, this one simply faded out! Eventually, after trying and failing to find a route we got frustrated and started to climb the hills towards the ridge line. Grasping at straws (literally!), we finally reached the ridge line after almost 2 and half hours of climbing and crawling! However, upon reaching the ridge line, we still could not find a good path which led to the main route. After searching for another 10 minutes we found a path parallel to the ridge line which ended up joining the main route, following it we reached the first door of the fort. Breathing a sigh of relief, we entered the fort.

Immediately after we entered the second door there was a underground cistern filled to the brim with beautiful, pure drinking water. Drinking our fill at the water cistern, we started exploring the fort. However, each bastion we visited involved peering over the edge hoping to find a decent route which would lead back to Chikhlawde. Finally, we reached the Chikhlawde side of the fort, from where we could see a point where we had rested while climbing and the route we had followed from that point. Gawking at the sight, we simply could not believe that we had climbed 'that'! After completing our round of the fort, we rested for some time at the Rohidmalla temple on the fort. From here we called up a few people to see if anyone knew the route which would descend to Chikhlawde with no success. After deciding that in the worst case, we could descend to Bazaarwadi and go to Chikhlawde by bus to collect our bikes, we started to descend the fort.

Ankit had a hunch that a path he had seen on the Bazaarwadi side of the fort, could perhaps traverse towards Chikhlawde and began following this path. Luckily for us, two villagers who

were climbing up to the fort pointed us in the right direction. The route went parallel to Ankit's guess and traversed the mountain at a much lower height than that which we had estimated. Following what could best be described as an absurdly simple path, we kept cursing ourselves for not finding this route while climbing. We descended from this route and reached the stream at which we had stopped before starting our climb, but on the other side. We had taken the completely different route!

We reached Chikhlawde, collected our bikes and zoomed towards Pune, stopping only for tea and snacks at Kapurhol. We reached home at around 7-7:30 pm. This trek taught me a very important lesson, that was to never underestimate any fort. No matter how simple a fort may seem, it can still screw you a hundred times over!

For more pics click here!

Kavlya 24th September 2013

2013-09-26T18:40:00.000+05:30

Kavlya is a fort situated on the border of the Pune & Raigad districts in Maharashtra. Looming over the picturesque Varandha Ghat, Kavlya stands sentry over all those who pass through its domain. At a height of 2124 feet, this fort is located at a distance of approximately 100 Kms. from Pune. An interesting fact about this fort is that, in 1857 this fort was divided in two by the British, to facilitate the widening of the Varandha Ghat road.

The decision to go to Kavlya was a spontaneous one. After days of gathering companions for a trek, everyone cancelled at the last minute leaving me and Nikhil the only participants. Thus, in a fit of exasperation we decided to go by ourselves. Nikhil met me at my home on the 22nd at 7 am and we left immediately afterwards. We took the Pune-Bengaluru Highway up till the Bhor exit. It was from this point onwards that the condition of the roads worsened! Filled with potholes and remnants of minor landslides, we had to navigate through what seemed more of a dirt track than a road (Ok..maybe I'm exaggerating a bit!).

We had breakfast at a small hotel about an hour's ride from the fort; and reached the base at around quarter past ten. We started walking towards the fort, keeping a wary eye on the multitude of monkeys roaming near the roadside stalls. A few hundred metres from these stalls, the road turns between two mountains; the one in the front of you is the Kavlya fort. The monsoon had provided a tremendous boost to the flora in the region. This had caused the path that was previously crystal clear, to be obscured by overgrown foliage. This slowed down our progress quite a bit. However, the route is quite simple with a very gradual incline. I estimate that we reached the top in about half an hour or so.

Blue Oakleaf

If we ignore the view there is not much to be seen on this fort, but if we look closely some ruins can be seen. The paths on the top are quite obscure, especially in the monsoon. I would recommend that if you are new to trekking, you should mark the route you are taking beforehand to avoid getting lost. The route going towards the sole bastion on the fort can be confusing as its descends for quite some time before resurfacing. There are a number of forts to be seen from this one; Rajgad and Torna to name a few, provided you are blessed with clear weather.

After saluting the Saffron flag of the Maratha Dynasty, we started our descent and thanks to the bad roads, reached Pune at around 6 pm. The main highlights of this trek for me were the photographs of a Nector Orchid (Habenaria Longicorniculata) and some amazing snaps of a Sap Surali and a Blue Oakleaf butterfly.

For more pics click here!

Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary 22nd to 27th February 2013

2013-03-10T16:22:00.001+05:30

22nd February (Day 1):
All our discussions & plans had finally come to fruition. We boarded the PA Bilaspur Express which runs from Pune to Bilaspur in the evening at 5:30 pm.
Our destination was Gondia, a city which is about 45 Kms. from the Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary. According to our plan, we were to arrive at Gondia and meet up with Abhijit Awalaskar and his family (who were arriving from Mumbai) at the Gondia Railway Station, from here we would hire cabs to drop us at the sanctuary.We left from Pune station at 5:40 pm.

23rd February (Day 2):
We reached Gondia around 11:30 am. and met up with Abhijit and his family; his mother, wife (Dhanashri) and son (Sanskar) at the station. Immediately we had lunch in a restaurant in Gondia, and left for Nagzira at around 1 pm.We reached Nagzira at 2:30 pm but had to wait as the park opens the outer gates at 3 pm. We had some sugarcane juice, and at 3 pm we entered the sanctuary.
We had booked the Log Huts through the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC). The main advantage of this is the that you can stay inside the sanctuary!

There were two open jeeps we had hired for exploring the park; Me, my elder brother Parth, his wife Himangi, and my cousin Aditya were in one jeep while Abhijit and his family were in another. On the first safari our jeep had a few sightings of chittal, sambars, and a small variety of birds like the Treepie and Peafowl, while the other jeep had a sighting of a tigress at a waterhole at Tiger Trail..
We returned back to the Enquiry Check post which also has a few accommodations. There is a dormitory, a canteen and about 10 small rooms here. This area is also the place where you have to register before going to any safari. The timings of the safari are from 6 AM to 11:30 am and from 3 pm to 6:30 pm.

The MTDC Registration office is also here, but the log hut in which we were going to stay is a 2 minutes drive from this place. We completed the registration formalities and went to the log hut. We reached just in time because about 15 minutes after we had reached it started to rain heavily and continued for almost 2 hours.
The main problem we faced was that the dinner was going to be served in the canteen only. So after much deliberation Dada and Abhijit went to the canteen and brought the dinner packed to the log hut.We had our dinner and slept since we had to be up early for the morning safari.

24th February (Day 3):
Since the morning safari began at 6 o' clock, we had to be up by 5. Today we had shuffled the arrangement of the jeeps. Abhijit, Sanskar, Dada & Himangi were in our original jeep; while Me, Aditya & Dhanashri & mother were in their jeep. The first sighting we had was of a Crested Serpent Eagle sun bathing majestically on a branch. The bird was camouflaged so brilliantly that we could not even see it until it was pointed out to us by Abhijit's mother. After taking a few (read many!) photos. we started moving ahead.The next mentionable sighting was of an Oriental Honey Buzzard. The other sightings on this safari were of a herd of Chittal crossing the road, a wild dog, some sambars, etc.
The safari ended at around 11 am and we returned to base for some rest and lunch.

After having a scrumptious lunch and catching forty winks, we left for our second safari of the day (overall 3rd safari). The route of this safari was simply amazing! Dense forest on each side of the road, coupled with the sunlight filtering through the trees presented a beautiful and pleasing sight. However, we did not have any sightings for a very long time until we finally saw a White-Eyed Buzzard on a tree not far away from the road. Around 6 O' clock we also saw a peacock displaying his plumage to impress a peahen.

25th February (Day 4):
As the day before, we got up at 5 am and left for our fourth safari by 6:30 am. Today we were going to roam in the B zone, and by this time we were getting desperate to spot a tiger. After sometime, we crossed a stream and went through a patch of thick green forest. Just after this patch there was a small tree overlooking the road on which we sighted a small owlet which was surprisingly basking in the sun. We were there clicking & recording away for almost 20-25 minutes, while watching the owlet move its head back and forth every time it heard a camera click!
Soon afterwards Abhijit spotted a Coppersmith Barbet giving calls while sitting on the topmost branch of a tree followed by a Common Hoopoe, which we saw again on the ride back. We returned back to base by 12 noon for lunch.

We had decided that we were going to try our best to spot a tiger on this safari. For the last two days, a tiger had been spotted in zone B by some jeeps in the evening, so we requested the person in charge to let us go in the same zone B which we had already been in the morning, in the hope that we could finally find a tiger. We went through Gaur Galli where we saw a Changeable Hawk Eagle cooling down in a waterhole. Continuing along the road past the Tiger Trail, we saw herds of Sambars and Chittals (including a juvenile male). With all these herbivorous here there was no chance that the tiger was anywhere near this place, so we went to another area in zone B to try our luck.
Like you may have guessed, we did not see a tiger that evening, but we did see a small herd of Gaurs or Indian Bisons crossing the road, as well as a couple of wild boars in the bush beside the road. It was almost 6:15 pm, when we saw a Sloth Bear which was going to cross the road but changed its mind when it saw our jeep and started walking along the road until it finally went back in to the jungle. This was the most amazing sighting in our trip yet!
We returned to base at around 6:30 pm, had dinner and packed our bags as we were going to leave for Pune after the morning safari.

26th February (Day 5):
As usual we got up at 5 am and left at 6 am. Today, we had to get back to the log hut by 10:30 am because we had to leave for Gondia to catch our train. Our route on this day was the same one which we had traveled on our first safari. We saw a Crested Serpent Eagle once more, followed by a sloth bear and a Hariyal. Along this route we also saw an Oriole, a White-Eyed Buzzard and another unidentified Bird of Prey which resembled a Shikra.
We returned to base where we packed the last minute things and left the log hut. On the way out we were lucky enough to have a last sighting of a Neelgai, which is a very timid animal. We reached outside the sanctuary in about 10-15 minutes and settled our accounts of our guides, said our goodbyes and finally left for Gondia at around 11:30 am.

We reached Gondia at around 12:45 pm and had lunch at a restaurant, after which we did a quick summary of our expenses up till now and left for Gondia Railway Station.
We boarded our train till Nagpur (Vidarbha Express) and reached Nagpur at 5:30 pm. This was where Abhijit and us parted ways as our reservation was from Nagpur by the Garib Rath train (which left at 6:30).
We had some snacks at a restaurant in the station and boarded our train for Pune. We reached Pune the next day at around 9:45 am.

You can see the videos below!

Purandar 3rd January 2012

2012-11-16T15:45:00.000+05:30

Photo Credit Abhijit Awalaskar

Purandar is a fort situated approximately 40 kms. from Pune. This fort is extremely significant from a historical point of view. Purandar was the first battlefield for Shivaji Maharaj's Swarajya. This was the place where Sambhaji, the crown prince was born. The Treaty of Purandar, between Mirja Raje Jaisingh and Maharaj was signed at this very place. Murarbaji Deshpande, a soldier in Shivaji Maharaj's army died defending this fort from falling into the hands of Diler Khan, who had laid siege to fort.

This was the first trek on which Nisha, Shalaka & Navin had accompanied me, the others included Nikhil & Sourabh. We had planned to meet at the Swargate Bus Stand at 7 am, from there we would take the first bus to Saswad, after reaching there we would have breakfast and take the next bus from Saswad to Kshetra Narayanpur. But as with all our previous treks, we were late and by the time we reached Saswad it was 8 am. This meant that we were a complete 1 hour behind schedule. Due to this we reached Saswad at 9:30 am. We took the next available bus to Narayanpur and had breakfast in a small hotel here. There is a Hemadpanti temple dedicated to Lord Shiva just next to the hotel. Narayanpur gets its name from the name of this temple, which is called Narayaneshwar. After taking darshan of this very old and very beautiful temple, we started to walk towards Peth Narayanpur, a very small village some 3 kms. from Narayanpur. This village is the actual base village of Purandar fort.

The trail for climbing up to the fort begins from this point. There is also a tar road which connects Narayanpur to the NH-4 highway, one can use this road to get up to the first Darwaja of the fort. There are two trails going up the fort from here; one with a gradual climb and one with a less gradual climb. We took the steeper path, since we were behind schedule. Thus, we started climbing the fort at about 11 am. Since, I had never been to a trek with Nisha, Navin & Shalaka, I had no idea about their trekking ability. It took us about 2 hours to reach the machi. By the time we reached the first Darwaja, Nisha was ready to kill me!

After we cross this Darwaja, there is a old, ruined church. 'When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade!'. Nisha had brought along all the required ingredients, so we made and drank some lemonade, and started to walk towards the fort again. At this point we were walking on the machi of the fort. To get to the top of the fort, we had go to the small valley (khind) between the forts of Purandar and Vajragad. From here the route to Purandar is very clear. It takes about half an hour to reach the balekilla from here. We followed this route, climbed the stairs and reached on top of the fort. By this time all of us were quite tired, and eventually only four of us, namely; Me, Nikhil, Sourabh & Shalaka climbed up to the Kedareshwar temple, which is the highest point on the fort. We waited for some time at the temple and descended back to the place where Nisha and Navin were waiting for us. We had our lunch in the shade of the of the Darwaja of the Balekilla. By the time we had finished lunch it was almost 3 pm.

We immediately started our descent, as we had planned to return to Pune by 8 pm. On the way we visited the Purandeshwar temple and explored the machi a little, and started to descend again. I was trying to find a simpler route for us to descend, but was unsuccessful in this endeavor. We lost the route once or twice, but finally managed to reach Peth Narayanpur at around 4:30 pm. We took a jeep from Narayanpur and reached Saswad around 5:45 pm. Luckily, there was a Asiad bus leaving for Pune at 6:30, which we managed to catch. We reached Pune at approximately 8:30 in the evening.

Harishchandragad 26th-28th January 2012

2012-10-24T11:28:00.003+05:30

Harishchandragad (4000 ft) is one of the most scenic forts in the Sahyadries. This fort is paricularly famous for its 'Konkan Kada' or Konkan Cliff. The fort is covered in dense forests, and is known to have wildlife as well. There are several routes by which you can ascend this fort, but the Khireshwar-Tolar Khind route is the most common. By this route, one requires about 5-6 hours to reach the Ganesh cave, on the fort.

Ever since I first visited this fort in 2008, I have been in awe of it. Everytime me and my friends get into a discussion of treks, Harischchandragad is sure to pop up, leading to a long description of its beauty by me. It was mainly due to this we were planning to go to Harishchandragad for a long time. Then, around 21st January, Ankit told me that He and some of his friends from Talegaon (where he lives) were planning to go to Harishchandragad on the 26th and asked if I was interested in comming with them. We decided to leave in the afternoon on the 26th and climb the fort at night. We were a total of 8 people; Myself, Pranao Pandey, Ankit Nagapurkar, Nikhil Vaidya, Varad Lele, Viraj Shete, Rushikesh Bhegade and Dr. Nikhil. As per our plan, we would leave Talegaon around 3 pm by car and reach Khireshwar by 7 pm. Thereafter, we would begin our ascent and reach the cave in about 6 hours, that is around 1 am.

We left Talegaon at around 3:30 pm, and reached Khireshwar via Junnar around 7 pm. By the time we had reached Khireshwar, it was already dusk. Therefore, we parked the cars near a small hotel in the village, got ready and immediately started to climb the fort(approx. 7:30 pm). The route to the fort via Tolar Khind is very well marked. Thanks to this, we reached the khind in about two & half hours. We had some snacks in a small shack near the khind (this is where the local villagers sell lemonade and buttermilk on weekends, when quite a few people come here). Once we had rested for a while we left immediately for the rock patches. We completed the rock patches and reached the top of the fort at approximately 11 pm. The next part of this trail is the crossing of 7 hillocks; at the end of these hillocks, we finally reach the Ganesh cave. However, by the time we had completed the rock patches, everyone was quite tired. In addition, the route ahead is a little tricky to navigate in the dark. Therefore, we decided to call it a night, and laid out our sleeping bags in another makeshift shack immediately after the rock patch.

The next morning, we woke up to the sunrise. We immediately repacked our bags and took the route across the hills to the cave. The Ganesh cave is not very far from the rock patches, we reached to the cave in two hours. Immediately after you enter the cave you can see a large idol of Lord Ganesha to your right. With the mouth of the cave behind, you can see an amazing view of the Harishchandreshwar temple and the peaks of the Sahyadries behind it.

We had some tea and breakfast, and laid down to catch the rest of our sleep. In the afternoon around 4 pm, we left to visit Kedareshwar. Kedareshwar is a huge Shivaling which is completely surrounded by water (all 12 months) in a cave not very far from Harishchandreshwar. After taking a 'pradakshina' around the shivlinga, we headed back to the cave to get changed.

After changing in to a set of fresh clothes, we left to see the sunset at Konkan Kada. Unfotunately, our view of the surrounding area was obstructed, since the horizon was hazy. There was also a group here who was conducting a rapelling event here.

Once the sun had set we started back to the cave. We met a villager near the cliff who agreed to provide us dinner of pithla-bhakri-bhat at the cave. We reached the cave, played some cards, had dinner and sank in to a peaceful sleep.

The next day, we woke up a little early, since Ankit, Pranao and 2 friends were going to perform a ritual known as 'Rudra' at Kedareshwar & Harishchandreshwar. This ritual is dedicated to Lord Shiva, who is one of the three primary gods in the Hindu religion. After Ankit and the rest had completed the ritual, we returned to the cave, packed our bags and 'checked out'. We were going to the highest point on Harishchandragad, known as Taramati Machi. We left our bags in a small hotel near its route and left for the machi (1 pm). We reached the top at around 2:45 pm, stayed for 15-20 minutes and started to descend the machi. We reached the hotel had some tea, took our bags and immediately started our long trek back to Khireshwar.

We reached Khireshwar at about 7:30 pm. We had some maggi at the small hotel where we had parked our cars, and started back. We reached Talegaon (Ankit's home) at one 'o clock in the morning. From here I collected my bike and took off, to reach home at around 2:30 am.

Torna Bike Trek 13th November 2011

2012-10-07T11:35:00.000+05:30

Torna is a fort situated about 60 kms from Pune. This fort is historically important as it was the first to be conquered by Shivaji Maharaj in his quest for Swarajya. Torna also known as Prachandagad is the highest for in the Pune district at an elevation of 1400 metres above sea level. It is said that when Shivaji Maharaj first captured this for in 1643, the soldiers tasked with rebuilding the fort found around 20 pots filled with gold, which was used by Shivaji to build Rajgad on the mountain which was situated opposite Torna.

Me and my college friends (Ankit, Nikhil & Sourabh) were planning to do a trek for quite a long time, but something always came up and the trek used to get cancelled. This was not our first trek together, we had done some treks to Lohgad, Visapur, etc. but this time we wanted to do a tougher trek and due to time constraints it had to be done in one day. After racking our brains, we finally came to the conclusion that Torna would be ideal. Everything was decided, and at the last moment, Sourabh cancelled. It was extremely irritating!! Since we had decided to go on bikes it was critical to have at least 4 people, luckily one of Ankit's friends (Pranao) joined up and the trek was on again!

We decide to leave for Torna on 13th November at around 7 am, and as per plan me and Nikhil left from my home and waited for Ankit & Pranao to join us on the highway. They arrived by 8 pm and we left for Velhe immediately. We reached Nasrapur Phata in around one and half hours. Velhe is about 30 kms from this point. After we reached Velhe, we found out that Ankit's bike had a puncture, so we left his bike at a garage in Velhe and started our climb towards Torna.

The route to Torna starts from the Velhe Police Station, after 3-5 minutes, there is a fork in the route. The route on the left goes towards he fort. There are 2 parts to this route;First, is the climb up to the ridge;Second, the climb from the ridge to the First Darwaja. The whole route has very little forest cover, and therefore its advised to carry sufficient water!

A small Rest!

Nikhil sitting in Topli Karvi

It was due to this heat that by 11:30 am, all four of us were at 4 different places! I had reached the ridge and couldn't see the others. I found a small shrub of Topli Karvi which provided just enough shade allowing me to take a small nap until Ankit and Nikhil showed up. From this point onwards, we kept walking towards the fort.

About 20 minutes from the top we have to traverse the fort from the right side & in about 10 minutes we reach the steps. These steps lead to the main door or Mahadarwaja. We Reached this location at around 1 pm.
Immediately after crossing the Maha Darwaja, we are greeted by a huge buruj (bastion). Further along the route, we come to another Darwaja. After going through this gate we finally reach the top.

First Darwaja

First Buruj

Second Darwaja

Zunjar Machi

The fort is quite vast. After we enter the fort by the above route,there are two ways you can take. The one in the front goes towards the Temple of Mengai Devi and Budhala Machi; while the route to the east leads to the Zunjar Machi. In this direction there is a bastion which overlooks Zunjar machi. One can get a good view of the machi and Rajgad from this point. About 10 metres before the buruj, there is a iron ladder attached to the fortifications using which one can descend to the machi. It is recomended to be extremely careful while descending to the machi since it can be dangerous IF WE ARE NOT CAREFUL!!!

Returning by the same route, we reached the Mengai Devi Temple, and took a small nap. Due to the high heat of the day we could not find the energy to fully explore the fort and the time constraints ensured that we could not stay overnight at the fort.

We started to descend the fort at around 4 pm and reached Velhe at around 5:30. We had some snacks at a hotel in Velhe (also named Torna) and left immediately. We had tea at one of Nikhil's relatives in Vinzar (about 8 kms from Velhe). We had started to leave when Ankit's bike once again almost ditched us again when the key of the petrol knob broke! Luckily we were able to turn it and switch the petrol knob ON.
We returned to Pune by 9 pm.

Kalsubai 8th-9th Dec 2007

2010-09-29T18:16:00.000+05:30

Kalsubai at 5400 ft, is the highest peak in Maharashtra and hence is an attraction to trekkers. I had been to Kalsubai once in 2004, but I was eager to go again. This trek was being conducted by Trek'Di, an organisation based in Pune. There were a total of 30 people in our batch.

We left from the Fergusson College main gate on 8th December 2007 at 11 pm and reached its base village(Bari) at about 5 in the morning. Since everybody was tired and cold by the long bus ride it was decided that everyone would take a nap and leave for Kalsubai by 8:30 am. So some of us slept in the bus while some of us slept in the village school which was just next to the road. After a good sleep for about 1½ hours, we made some tea had a small breakfast, distributed the theple's (a kind of spiced flat bread) among the batch and left for Kalsubai.

We travelled by bus to the village just ahead of Bari on the top of the bus and IT WAS COLD!! After we reached the village we took an introduction session in which we got to know every person of the batch. After about half an hour we started ascending towards Kalsubai, there was a small temple on the way where we waited for some time for the rest of the batch. Up till now there wasn't much of a climb, but, the gradient became slightly steep from this point.

We reached the first of the 3 ladders in about 45 mins from the temple. We ascended the ladder and completed the first step on Kalsubai :). While climbing there was this vendor boy who used to climb every Saturday-Sunday to the top to sell lemonade to the trekkers who came there. We drank some lemonade and started climbing with renewed vigour, but the top was nowhere in sight. Finally the second ladder came into view and we had to climb a rock patch to get to it. Once we climbed the rock patch (an easy one), we climbed the second ladder completed the 2nd step. After climbing for about 15-20 mins, we saw a large rock structure which is the top most point of the Kalsubai peak. There is a third ladder using which we can climb on to this structure and the highest point in Maharashtra.

There is a temple of Kalsubai Mata on the peak which marks the highest point in Maharashtra. The view from the to is simply amazing! We could see the forts Alang, Madan and Kulang to the east. Then after taking some photographs, we sat down to eat lunch.

After taking a group photograph, we started to descend at around 1:30 pm and reached the base at around 5 pm. At the base we prepared and ate bhel before starting for Pune in our bus. We reached Pune at about 12 am.

Jivdhan-Naneghat 26th-27th January 2009

2010-09-29T18:00:00.002+05:30

Jivdhan (height 3754 ft) is a fort which situated about 26 kms. from Junnar, its base village is Ghatghar. This fort is quite important historically since Shahajiraje (Shivaji Maharaj's father) rescued the infant Murtiza, the last scion of the Nizamshahi from this fort. Shahjiraje acted as regent to Murtiza till 1636 when the Mughals trapped them at Pemgiri and he was forced to surrender Murtiza to them, thus leading to the end of the Nizamshahi. This fort is said to have been built during the Satvahaan Era, maybe to protect Naneghat a route which leads to Konkan. In 1818, the British captured and destroyed almost all the forts in this region, even Jivdhan did not escape and its main entrance was destroyed.

I had heard about the scenic beauty around the fort Jivdhan and could not wait to see it firsthand. We met at the enquiry counter at Shivajinagar S.T stand at 5:30 am and learned that the direct bus to Junnar was late. We therefore, took the bus which went to Lenyadri via Junnar. Finally, we left at about 7:30 am and reached Junnar in about 3hrs ie about 10:30 am. After reaching Junnar we had some breakfast and took another bus to Ghatghar(base village of Jivdhan-about). We reached Ghatghar at about 11:30am and started to climb in about 20 minutes. We reached the stairs in about 1½ hrs. There was a small rock patch which we climbed and reached the top. After taking some pics, we went to the 'Dhanyakothar'(a place used to store food) where we were going to stay for the night.

We had our lunch there and left to see the fort at about 3pm. There is not much to see on the fort, with the exception of the ruins of the fortification. We can see many forts around such as Hadsar, Nimgiri, Alang, Madan, Kulang, Harishchandragad, etc. We can also see Nanacha Angtha from the top(it a a small peak next to Naneghat). After taking a round circuit of the fort we came to the west side from where we could see the sunset and Vanarlingi Pinnacle. Words cannot describe that amazing sunset which we saw that day. After sun had disappeared beyond the horizon, we went back to the 'Dhanyakothar' and cooked our meal (Flower-batata rassa!) ate it and went to sleep since we had to leave quite early in the morning.

We woke up next morning at about 6:30 am and after a breakfast of tea and maggi, we packed our bags and left at around 8:30 am. The route from which we were going to descend was actually the original route which people used hundreds of years ago. We retraced yesterday evening's route and reached the spot where there used to be a large gate which has now fallen down and had enough empty space for one man to go. This route was a little dangerous since there was a small rock patch and plenty of loose stones but we managed to navigate our way quite successfully. After this part the route was simple and went through the forest and met a kachha road to Naneghat.

Naneghat(2000 yrs old) was an important road during that era since it descended into Konkan and was near Junnar which was an important trading station in that age. Once we reached naneghat some of us went to the top of Nanacha Angtha and saw a splendid view of Jivdhan and the surrounding area and also caught a glimpse of Bhairavgad. Naneghat has some amazing caves which had some sculptures which have been stolen or broken. We had our lunch there and started our 4km walk to Ghatghar.

When we reached the Ghatghar phata where the ST bus usually waited, we found that the bus had not come and was late. So we took a jeep to Junnar. After reaching Junnar we took the 6pm bus to Pune and reached Pune at about 9:30 pm.

Madhu-Makarandgad Trek 26th-27th April 2009

2010-03-20T13:02:00.001+05:30

The Madhu peak and Makarandgad fort are situated side-by-side near Mahabaleshwar, above a village named 'Hatlot'. Though there is no specific mention of this fort in Maharashtra's history, one may guess that this fort was built to protect Wai before Pratapgad came into existence after which Makarandgad became redundant. Makarandgad is at a height of 1236 mts. from sea level and has dense forests which support a large variety of flora & fauna.

We started out from Pune at 11 pm on 25th April 2009 and reached the base village around 4 am where we slept in the veranda of a school until 7 am. After that we had our breakfast of Maggi and started to climb the fort. The first part of the climb was through the dense Javli cha Jungle which is an evergreen forest. The first part of the climb ended when we reached a plateau on which there is a temple of Shiva and a small village named Ghonaspur. From this point onward the tree cover starts to thin out. This was the first official stop where we took some pics of the temple and surrounding area and started to climb the fort.

This part of the climb was very tricky since the path to the fort was quite steep and full of scree due to which it was risky to climb and had to be done carefully, also the sun was now high in the sky and the heat was increasing. The final part of the climb is especially tricky because the route to the fort has steep valleys on both sides and is full of scree so the climb was very slow and exhausting. Finally after we reached the top of the fort there was a small temple where there were some trees under which we had some rest. Beside these trees near the temple, the fort is mostly barren with little or no trees. Unfortunately by the time we had reached the top of the fort we had used up all of our water and there was no visible water tank in sight. There was one water tank which was a small descend from the temple but the route was again full of scree. We had little choice so we decided that some of us will take the bottles of everyone in a small sack and bring water from the tank.

At about 11 am, after filling the water bottles we went back up to the temple and started descending the fort slowly due to the loose gravel on the path. We reached the base at 1 pm where we had our lunch of 'puran-polis' and parathas. After lunch we left Hatlot and started our journey back to Pune, stopping in Mahabaleshwar for strawberry with cream and reached Pune by 9pm.

Harishchandragad 7th-8th June 2008

2008-06-11T17:47:00.002+05:30

Harishchandragad is one of the most scenic forts in the Sahyadries. This fort at a height of 4671ft strikes an imposing and awe-inspiring figure and is famous for its 'Konkan Kada'(1800 ft). This fort played an important role in guarding Malshej Ghat which descends to Konkan. Situated in the Kalsubai mountain range this fort has a moderately difficult climb like all the other forts in the range viz. Alang, Madan, Kulang, Ratangad etc. There are 4 routes for climbing this forts Pachnai Route, Khireshwar route via Tolar khind, Sadhle Ghat route, Rajmarga and Nalichi Wat. Out of these routes the Khireshwar route is most commonly used. By this route it takes about 2½ hrs to reach Tolar khind, and 3 hrs to complete the 3 rock patches and the 9 hills on top of the fort to reach the Ganesh cave which can accommodate up to 35 people.

We chose this route to climb the fort since we were a batch of 34 people and some of them were first timers. We left from Pune for Khireshwar on the 7th at 6:30 am. It took us almost 4½ hrs to reach Khireshwar. Once we reached the village we had a short lunch of 'parathas' and started walking at about 12:30 pm and reached Tolar khind at about 3pm. We stopped in the khind for some time for everyone to take a short break and started climbing the rock patches which took us about 45 mins to climb. While we were at the patch the clouds came in and we were completely surrounded by the clouds in a matter of seconds. Once we reached the top of the fort we had a small snack of 'gulpolis' and started to walk again across the hills to reach our dwelling-place. By now it had started to rain quite heavily. While we were walking along the route we realised that we had chosen the wrong path and come out somewhere else. Pinakin went back a little and found the right path and we started to go by that path to reach the temple of Harishchandreshwar and reached the caves in about 5 mins. The first thing we did on reaching the caves was to change out of our wet clothes and change into warm ones. There is food facility on the fort where we arranged tea, dinner and breakfast. Tea arrived soon after and the people were eager to have it after the cold walk in the rain. Once everyone had had tea some people went to sleep until dinner, some played cards while some just sat talking. Dinner arrived at about 9pm (Pithla,bhakri,rassa,bhat) and everyone was asleep by about 10:30 pm.

By the time everyone woke up it was almost 6:30 am and tea had arrived. After having tea we went to see the Konkan Kada. We reached Konkan kada in about an hour and spent some time drinking in the amazing view the cliff offers. After about 2 hours we left konkan kada and went back to the cave where a brunch of khichdi was waiting for us. Once everyone had breakfast we took our bags and left to the Harishchandreshwar temple where we filled our water bottles and went to see the Shivling which in a cave near the temple. This Shivling is extremely large and is completely surrounded by waist high water and has a small cave beside it. It was said that there used to be snakes in the water surrounding the Shivling before, but now one cannot see any snakes in the water. We left immediately after visiting the Shivling along the route across the hills. I, Harshad and Sharvil were the last ones of the group when we saw a snake sliding along the path and Harshad identified it as the Saw-scaled Viper, one of the 4 most poisonous species of snakes in India. After this incident we kept walking continuously and reached Khireshwar amidst pouring rain where we changed our clothes and had a great lunch of 'Zhunka-Bhakar-Bhat' and left for Pune. We reached Pune at about 8 pm.

My only regret for this trek was that we could not complete Taramati Machi due to time shortage and the clouds, other than that this was one of my best treks.

Hadsar-Shivneri Night Trek 19th-20th April 2008

2008-04-27T13:33:00.000+05:30

Located near Junnar, Hadsar (4680 ft) was an important fort to protect the trade routes passing through Junnar and the nearby area. These forts were never conquered by Shivaji Maharaj since they had good relations with the officer incharge of the Junnar area. Hadsar is located strategically with many forts nearby like Chavand, Nimgiri, Hanumant, etc.
There are two ways to reach the forts both of which begin from the base village Hadsar, the first route is slightly difficult with a small rock-patch where iron staples are driven in the patch to facilitate climbing. The second route is the easiest which leads us to the steps in about 1 hr. There are not many structures on the fort except for a temple of Lord Shiva and some caves.
We left from Ferguson College main gate at about 9:30 pm by bus and reached Junnar at about 1 am. We then went to the base village Hadsar in about 45 minutes and started climbing by 2 am. Since it was a night trek we went by the easier route. Due to the full moon there was absolutely no need of torches since we could see quite comfortably. The route was a little slippery due to the loose gravel on the path. On reaching the top of a small hill adjacent to the fort we walked for about 5 minutes and reached the steps of the fort.
There were about 150 steps leading to the gate of the fort. After climbing the stairs, on the top there was a water cistern where we got our drinking and cooking water the next day. Walking another 5-10 minutes we reached the Shiva temple and laid our sleeping bags outside the temple and slept till 6:30 am. After waking up we went to the water cistern to collect water to make some tea and maggi. We brought the water and some of us decided to go to the topmost point of the fort which was near the temple. On reaching the top we were stunned by the view around the fort and took some photos. In a few minutes we were called for tea and went down for tea and maggi. After breakfast we took a round circuit of the fort and came back to the temple took our bags and started to descend the fort at about 11 am. After descending the stairs there was a cave where there was water with which we filled our bottles and started descending again.
We reached the base village at about 12:30 pm and left for Junnar where we had lunch and left for Shivneri at about 2:30 pm which is just 2kms from Junnar. We were given 3 hrs to see the fort and were expected to reach back to the bus at 5 pm. We saw the whole fort, took some photos and reached back to the bus at 4:45 pm and left for Pune. We reached Pune at about 8 pm which was quite early considering the traffic.

Myself

2006-11-15T18:29:00.000+05:30

Hi All
I got into trekking from the 5th standard. Due to my hobby of trekking i got into photography after a few years. I have made this Blog to display my photos and post some of my trekking experiances...

Hope you like it